Ashleigh Barty has matched her previous best Australian Open performance after grinding out a tough second-round win over Italian Camila Giorgi.
Barty, who made the third round last year, withstood the firepower of world No.71 Giorgi to earn a 5-7 6-4 6-1 victory on Rod Laver Arena.
The Australian No.1 next faces Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who knocked out 16th seed Elena Vesnina.